cognito UCA's on lowered truck

minerigger

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Dec 24, 2013
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So to revive an old thread. I pull tbar bolts out but have cognito uca with the ball joints bolted in from bottom. Do I need to swap them side to side and flip them upside down or will that not work well for me? Really like how low it is
 

Chevy1925

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Put the ball joint in from the top and go from there. Doubt it will be an issue if you just put them in from the top
 

moparkxracer

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Jun 25, 2010
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I had to swap sides and flip them upside down to get the angles right. Pm me your number I can see if I can find some pics and text them to you.
 

SoCalMike

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Dec 12, 2010
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The only problem will be getting the alignment in spec. Caster will be a problem.

Dropping the ball joint in from the top of the uca will help but very little with the torsion bar bolts removed. The best thing to do is go back to stock like uca to get the ball joint at a decent angle and alignment caster back in spec. This I based on my experience.

Now that I am back to stock height, I wish I kept the cognito uca's I had. Just for the ability the bolt in new ball joints when they go bad. Also, do not get acdelco uca's. The ball joints suck. At full drop out the ball joint maxes out before the uca hits the frame stop and destroys the ball joint boot. Because of this I have a month old set of acdelco uca's with bad ball joints in the garage. When my current ball joints go bad In my moog uca's i will press in new ball joints in the acdelco uca's and swap them out.
 
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minerigger

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Spoke with moparxracer last night, going to try some things and look see how all lines up. If none of it works stock arms go on
 

Chevy1925

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Caster is front to back of the wheel correct and camber is the angle top to bottom or do I have them backwards

caster is the relationship between the top and bottom ball joints. negative caster is the top ball joint farther toward the front of the truck than the bottom ball joint. positive is the top ball joints farther to the back than the bottom ball joint. it will not cause a tire wear issue and main area you actually "feel" caster is when you make a corner, the steering wheel will self center after you make the corner. it can also help stop some bump steer but thats something your not going to really feel on the street
 

minerigger

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40fc36dd0443778e1605699fee5772d5.jpg
driver side
f6a494a635a63109fe38496aa7f1f247.jpg
passenger side. Don't look to hot
 

Chevy1925

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neither are by any means optimal.

personally, id just drive it and see how long they last. make sure these are good and tight as is and then check every oil change. if they are the good ball joints, the lining should be all around the socket and not give you issues, its just not in its "optimal position"
 

Chevy1925

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Is there even a way to check the max angle of the bj on the truck?

you have to pull the torsion bar and full compress the suspension OR pop the UCA ball joint out of the spindle and push the stem all the way in toward the truck to see much more angle you have.
 

minerigger

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Well I'm not that ambitious today. I put the bolts in 3 turns and drove around the block rice to cycle the suspension. 21 1/2" I think I'll leave it be and see what the alignment says
 

minerigger

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Dec 24, 2013
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Changed my mind, added 2 more turns. Sits at 22" each side up front. Getting aligned know, will post up results and what they say about the front end in general